Warhol ex Varchola

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Did you know that Andy Warhol's family name was originally Varchola?

Yes, if you are into genealogy and have done any digging into your family's ancestry as I have, you probably have found that your inherited last name was most likely changed--and possibly changed more than once!  For example, Andy Warhol was a Varchola.  I'm a member of a variety of Yahoo groups which are into genealogy and family ancestry research.  On any given day, you can read about those researching their families genealogy finding that their relatives have MANY variations of last names which may SOUND similar, but surely are spelled quite differently! 

Andy Warhol Brief -- Warhol = Warhola = Varchola 

aka Warhola and Varchola ...

Andy Warhol was born as Andrew Warhol in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His parents, Ondrej (Andrew) Warhola (original surname was Varchola, he changed it after coming to US) and Júlia Zavacká, were working class immigrants of Ruthenian ethnicity from Miková, in northeast Slovakia; his father worked in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. The family was Catholic. In the third grade, he came down with a disease called St. Vitus' dance, which is caused by a virus that affects nerves and is thought to be a complication of scarlet fever. This disease changed his looks, and his life, forever.

This brief plus the picture of Andy Warhol, photographed by Helmut Newton, appears on his Wikipedia biography.

My great grandmother, Anna Varchola, was born, as a guestimate, in 1870 in Czechoslovakia.  She married Mihaly Kovacs, who was born August 4, 1864 in Czechoslovakia.  His name was "Americanized" to Michael Kovach, I assume when he came to the United States; she became Anna Kovach as well.  As Michael Kovach died November 22, 1908 in Pennsylvania, Anna remarried.

Anna [Varhola] Kovach had a total of 11 children although reportedly 8 died from childhood diseases such as tuberculosis.  She had 2 daughters with Michael, Anna and Julia; and a third daughter, Margaret with her second husband.  Anna died in 1932 in Cleveland, Ohio, and is buried in Calvary Cemetary.

A few years ago, I was doing some online research on the Varchola name.  It was at that time, that I learned Andy Warhol was also born a Varchola.

Andy Warhol Links 

Andy Warhol Museum
The Andy Warhol Museum office website.
Andy Warhol Foundation
The official website of the Andy Warhol Foundation.
Andy Warhol Visual Arts
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

Anna Varchola Daughters 

  • Anna Kovach - Born October 1900 in Pennsylvania. Left home in 1918. Married Andrew Jason and had 2 sons, Frankie and William. Last known address: 1844 West 54th Street, Cleveland, Ohio.
  • Julia Kovach - Born October 1, 1905 in Eleanora, Pennsylvania. Married Alexander J. Nagy on October 2, 1928 in St. Mary's Church. Had two children, Lillian and Robert John [born May 12, 1931]. She died on April 28, 1978 and is buried in Holy Cross Cemetary in Cleveland, Ohio. Section 11, Lot 4640, Grave 1.
  • Margaret - Born October 13th. Married William Taylor and had 3 children: David, Cindy, and Karen.

A very special lens on Andy Warhol 

Andy Warhol Flowers Tote 

Wow! What a neat item!

Andy Warhol by Loop Design Tote $38.00 was spotted at Urban Outfitters.

Bright and cheery, these handy totes are tough and artsy, quite literally. Images made famous by inimitable pop artist and cultural icon Andy Warhol are screened onto the heavy canvas bags. Choose from "shoes" "ice cream," "flowers," or "soup can." Color and the level of distress on the prints varies from one bag to another. All of them come with three printed pins stuck on the exterior that you can move around or put on clothing, other bags, etc. Inside, there are three pockets on a panel, one with Velcro closure. Also inside on a chain is a coin purse shaped and printed like Warhol's images, and a strap with a lobster clasp at the end from which to hang your keys. Finally, inside the handles are printed quotes from Andy himself. Cotton canvas. 15.5 x 15.5 with 22 inch strap.

Check out all the cool Andy Warhol products available from Urban Outfitters.

Andy Warhol Happy Butterfly Day File Tote 

Andy Warhol Happy Butterfly Day File Tote

Amazon Price: $20.00 (as of 12/17/2009)Buy Now
List Price: $20.00

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Warhol on eBay 

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Andy Warhol "Factory Girl" 

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Edie Sedgwick, Factory Girl 

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Andy Warhol Books 

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Andy Warhol Paintings 

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Warhol on Flickr 

Decker Building by edenpictures

Decker Building

Warhol by apαs

Warhol

it's meh again by apαs

it's meh again

it's meh by apαs

it's meh

BERLIN - HAMBURGER BAHNHOF by Punxutawneyphil

BERLIN - HAMBURGER B...

BERLIN - HAMBURGER BAHNHOF by Punxutawneyphil

BERLIN - HAMBURGER B...

Andy Warhol at the Denver Art Museum by Richard C. Anderson

Andy Warhol at the D...

Warhol's Last Factory by edenpictures

Warhol's Last Factor...

Andy Warhol Got Shot Here by edenpictures

Andy Warhol Got Shot...

DSC_1480 by sanberdoo

DSC_1480

Andy Warhol, Ladies and Gentlemen, 1975 by 16 Miles of String

Andy Warhol, Ladies...

Andy Warhol, Ladies and Gentlemen, 1975 by 16 Miles of String

Andy Warhol, Ladies...

automatically generated by Flickr

Andy Warhol in the news 

Hugh Grant's drunken Warhol story
opens this month in the US, has the British media in a tizzy today over his revelation that he impul...
Exhibit gives filmmaker Tim Burton the Andy Warhol treatment
MoMA is giving Burton the full Andy Warhol treatment through its emphasis on the director's form...
BEYOND THE ABSURD: Roland Tavel and Andy Warhol
by Mary Hanlon Andy Warhol's 1965 film Vinyl is the lesser-known adaptation of Anthony Burgess&#...
Lively Yale Rep musical set in Warhol's 'Factory'
By Chesley Plemmons, Theater Critic If you keep even one eye on the art market, you should be well a...

Be sure to drop me a line before you go -- Andy Warhol fan? 

Heard of the name Varchola or Warhola???

Do you enjoy the art of Andy Warhol? Are you into genealogical research? Please take a moment and tell me about it!

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  • Reply
    AndyPo AndyPo Sep 7, 2009 @ 7:05 am
    Excellent lens. Interesting. I like Varchola/Warhol's work.
  • Reply
    Robin_Forlonge_Patterson Robin_Forlonge_Patterson May 24, 2009 @ 9:41 am
    Anna's other daughters are presumably dead now too. Rest in peace, ladies!

    Their life stories (with any number of alternative names) would be welcome on the Genealogy Wikia. It has a few pages mentioning Andy Warhol but no "Varchola" or "Kovach" yet. Anyone who can type and click can edit it - same as on Wikipedia.

    Julie, I expect you've read about that, or soon will. But most of your visitors probably haven't.

    The genealogy of the whole world is covered in the free, multilingual Genealogy Wikia, a wiki nicknamed "Familypedia". See my lens that introduces it and leads you step-by-step through the process of creating your first page on it.

    Individuals and surnames and places have their own dedicated pages, with very easy creation of links to any other page on the wiki or outside it.

    Please have a look and a try. Friendly old-timers will help you.
  • Reply
    FoxMusic FoxMusic Feb 29, 2008 @ 5:41 am
    Andy Warhols the best, Thanks for the lens

Genealogy Research Links 

National Archives Genealogy Tips
The National Archives, NARA web site has very few actual records online. Primarily this web site provides research tools, such as microfilm indexes and finding aids, articles and information on where to find the records and how to access them.
Family Tree SS #s
Family Tree has a free researching tool to search the Social Security Death Index.
Find a Grave
Find the graves of ancestors, create virtual memorials, add virtual flowers and a note to a loved one's grave.
National Center for Health Statistics
Handy links provided for those users who want direct access to individual State and territory information.
Olive Tree Genealogy
Your Link to the Past. Are you hunting for your ancestors? Search for your family origins and immigrant ancestors! Free searchable databases are at your fingertips. Adding another branch to your family tree has never been easier.

Footnote: A recognizable uncommon name? 

I've written other Squidoo lens on the surnames of Nagy and Kovach aka Kovacs which are stated to be "common" last names for Hungarians / Slovakians.

It is noted that Andy Warhol was born a Varchola, but changed his name. Today, when we think of him, he is easily recognized by his last name alone, Warhol.

Now that I've turned my attention, in this lens, to the name of "Varchola," it would seem that this is not so common of a surname. One would think that researching the family tree should be an "easier" task than research Nagy or Kovach.

And so the search continues ...

You might also like these related lenses ... 

Speaking about genealogy!

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work ... it is just NOT cool so don't do it!

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